Pile fabric and method



Jan. 25, 1955 H. J. SMILEY 3 2,700,401

PILE FABRIC AND METHOD I Original Filed June 1, 1951 I 4 Sheets-Shet l Jan. 25, 1955 H. J. SMILEY 2,700,401

FILE FABRIC AND METHOD Original Filed June 1, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 nited. States p v PILE FABRIC AND METHOD Harry J. Smiley, Glasgow, Va., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application June 1, 1951, Serial No. 229,405,

now Patent No. 2,674,270, dated April 6, 1954. Divided and this application April 4, 1952, Serial No. 280,457

3 Claims. (Cl. 139-403) This application is a division of Serial No. 229,405 filed June 1, 1951, now Patent No. 2,674,270.

This invention relates to pile wires and fabrics, and more particularly to an improved pile wire and fabric formed therefrom in which the fabric is characterized by areas of relatively high loops intermingled with low tufts in the same weftwise row.

I have found that strikingly novel effects can be achieved inpile fabrics such as carpets, by employing a serrated pile wire having high and low portions over which high and low pile loops are woven and in addition having a blade or knife at one or more points along the wire in the shed so that when the wire is withdrawn, some of the loops in the transverse row are cut. If the knife is located along the wire at the rise or leading edge of one of the high portions of the wire, the low loops formed over the preceding low portion will all be cut to form low tufts, whereas the loops woven over the higher portions of the wire remain as uncut pile to form loops higher than the tufts.

With the above novel pilewire in mind, it will be apparent that a wide range of effects may be achieved in a fabric that may be woven on a Velvet loom or a Wilton loom customarily equipped with a jacquard motion. The wire disclosed in the present invention may have one high and one low portion on each Wire or any number. The low portions may be of different heights if desired, and they may be transversely arranged in any desired spacing on the individual wire. Likewise, the knives may be inserted or omitted on the same wire or in accordance with a predetermined pattern on a group of wires.

Due to the loop drawing characteristic of pile wires having a serrated top edge, it is possible to provide an extremely wide range of variations in the appearance of the fabric using only a single set of wires. It is contemplated that a set of wires may include individual wires in which the serrations are staggered weftwise of the loom and in which the cutting knives may be selectively inserted or removed in accordance with the effect desired. Furthermore, the relative height of the high and low portions may be varied on-each wire and from wire to wire. A uniform round wire can be employed in conjunction with a number of the serrated wires and the serrations may be located at any desired weftwise location on the wires.

It will thus be apparent that an extremely Wide range of effects may be achieved incorporating loops of varying height together with tufts of varying height, which are at least shorter than the highest loops. V

A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved pile fabric having an area in which at least some transverse rows of pile are formed from cut tufts and relatively higher uncut loops.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective showing a single pile wire constructed in accordance with the invention and in which all of the knives are inserted in their sockets;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail partly sectioned, of one of the knife sockets of the wire of Fig. 1, showing the manner in which the knife is inserted and retained in the socket;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section as seen at 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of one of the pile wire knife sockets;

removed;

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the knife;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic face view of a fabric wov en' with a set of wlres constructed in accordance with the mvention;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 88 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 9-9 of Fig.7;

Patented an, 25, 1955 Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view looking warpwise'of j the fabric, showing the pile loops woven over one of my improved pile wires and before the wire is withdrawn;

Fig. 11 is a schematic view looking weftwise of the fabric, showing a series of my improved wires with .a

warp yarn woven over the wires before withdrawal thereof; I

Fig. 12 illustrates, by way of example, some of the variations that may be achieved by using my improved pile wire; a

Fig. verse rows of pile loops woven over the wires of Fig. '12 and with one wire drawn;

Fig. 14 is a view corresponding to Fig. 13 with the second pile wire drawn;

Fig. 15 is a view corresponding to Fig. 14 with all.

three wires drawn, showing high loops, low loops, and low tufts;

Figs. 16-18 are sectional details of Figs. 13-15 respectively, taken on the line 1618;

Figs. 19-21 are sectional details of Figs. 13-15 taken on line 1921;

Figs. 22-24 are sectional details of Figs. on line 2224;

Figs. 25-27 are sectional details of Figs. on line 2527;

Figs. 28-30 are. sectional details of Figs. on line 2830; and

Figs. 31-33 are sectional details of Figs. on line 31--33.

The present invention comprises essentially the provision of a set of pile wires in which at least one wire 13-1 5 taken 13-15 taken 13-15 taken 13 is a schematic face view showing three trans 13-15 taken and preferably a plurality of wires, are provided with.

low portions and relatively-higher portions, together 'with a knife socket at the leading edge of at least'one. of.

the higher portions. The height of the knives when installed in the socket is desirably not sufficient 'to out high loops woven over the high portions of the wire but is sufficient to cut only the loops woven over the, immediately preceding low wire portions. The effect that may be obtained by introducing the knife into the shed instead of positioning it at the end of the wire beyond the shed as formerly, provides novel effects because in this way low tufts dispersed at random with higher loops be produced. While it has been possible can readily in the pastto provide a fabric having low loops and high tufts by running a separate cutter along the top of the fabric, such mechanism could not cut low loops, and leave the high loops in the same transverse. row

uncut.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the pile wire 50 is provided with a conventional head 51 and one or more high portions 52, 52 which are -inserted in the shed of a pile fabric in accordance with the usual operation of a pile wire loom. The low 'portions 53, 53 between the high portions 52 have in the preferred form, a steep edge 54 which is in effect the trailing edge of the high portions 52, and a sloping edge 55 which forms the leading edge of the high portions 52. A groove or socket 56 is provided directly in advance of each sloping edge v55 to accommodatea knife 57. The forward terminus of the socket 56 is;undercutw at 58 (shown in Fig. 2) and the rearward terminus:

sloping edge 55. is such that if the knife is omitted (as shown in Fig. loops woven on the low portions 53 will be raised by the sloping edge 55 so that the high portions 52 may pass through the raised loops Without cutting them. The edge 55 is initially higher than the knife but it drops sharply below the cutting edge thereof in order to provide minimum loop drawing for any loops woven over the wire above the knife. The slope must not be so steep however, that when the knife is removed there will be any difficulty in pulling the wires. It is also to be noted that the opposite edge 55a of the socket is substantially undercut and rounded so that it will not snag the pile loops when the wire is withdrawn without the knife. It will also be understood that other satisfactory means for selectively securing the knives 57 at the sloping edges 55 can be provided without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Referring now to Figs. 7-l1, a pile fabric woven from a set of wires 50 in which the warpwise position of the knives and the high and low portions are varied to provide a symmetrical fabric pattern that will not be stretched, will be described. The fabric of Fig. 7 is characterized by random portions of low tufts 61 and higher loops 62 in the same transverse rows. While the showing of Fig. 7 illustrates fabric in which each row has at least some tufts, it will be understood that some non-cutting wires may be interspersed as desired, with the cutting wires.

A fabric to which the present invention is admirably suited comprises a plurality of stuffer warps 65, 65 and weft shots 66, 66 which are bound together to form the conventional groundwork by binder warps 67, 67. Pile loops 62 remain uncut since they are woven over the high portions 52, 52 of the wires above the knives. The tufts 61, 61 formed from loops 61a, 61a woven over the low portions 53 of the wire, are cut by knives 57, 57 when the wires are withdrawn, to provide the fabric shown in Figs. 8 and 9. By selecting the relative position of the pile wires and by locating the high and low portions at different positions along different wires, the varied pattern effect such as shown in Fig. 7, may be achieved. In this form it will be noted that there is substantially no drawing or robbing of the loops when the wires are pulled because all of the low loops are cut so that the fabric is an exact duplication of the high and low portions on the set of wires. However, further variations may be achieved either by omitting some of the knives on the wires and/or by using one or more uniform wires in the set. Such an arrangement is shown by way of example in Fig. 12 in which the knives 57, 57

have been removed from the sockets in front of high portions 52a, 52a on wires 68 and 69. In this example, I have also illustrated a uniform round wire 70 in conjunction with the serrated wires 68 and 69.

When the pile is woven over the wires shown in L Fig. 12, the unshaded high loops 71, 71 and the shaded low loops 72, 72 are provided as shown in Fig. 13 in accordance with the configuration of the wires of Fig. 12. When the uniform round wire 70 is withdrawn, there is no change in the loops 71 formed over this wire since they are neither cut or raised. However, when wire 69 is withdrawn as shown in Fig. 14, the high loops 71 remain unchanged but the low loops which were Woven over the low portions 53a, 53a in front of knives 57, 57 are cut to form tufts 73, 73, but the low loops woven over portions 53b, 53b are not cut and are consequently raised to become high loops 71 because the knives have been omitted from sockets 56a, 56a in wire 69. In so raising the low loops on portions 53b, 53b, the aligned high loops 71 in row 70a are lowered to form the shaded low loops 72 in this row (as shown in Fig. 14).

When wire 68 is withdrawn, the high loops 71 formed over the high portions 52 of this wire, remain unchanged. The low loops in front of knives 57 are cut to form tufts 73, 73 and the low loops on portions 53b, 53b of wire 68 are raised to become high loops 71. Similarly in so doing, the corresponding high loops in the same pile yarn in row 69a are lowered from high loops to low loops (as shown in Fig. 15).

In Figs. 13-33 the numeral 71 is used to designate a high loop, the numeral 72 is used to designate a low loop, and during the course of wire pulling 10w loops 72 are changed to high loops 71 and vice versa. The succeeding wire can be arranged to lower some of the high loops formed when wire 68 is withdrawn in exactly the same manner that has' been described above, to provide the desired pattern effect.

It will thus be apparent that it is possible to provide any desirable combination in a single transverse row of high loops, low loops and tufts that may be desired to complete a predetermined pattern. Not only may the height of the loops be varied in the same row but it is possible to provide some rows in which the loops are all the same height, the loops are all cut into tufts of uniform or non-uniform height, as well as any intermediate combination thereof. It will be apparent that if the set of wires is so arranged that the raising of a low loop to a high loop occurs in a pile yarn which has been cut to form a tuft in the preceding row, only one of the two tufts formed will be lowered in an amount sufficient to make up the difference between the high and low loop.

Figs. 16l8 show clearly the forming of a high loop and low tufts in the same pile yarn, as described above. Figs. 19-21 show how high and low loops are formed from the same pile yarn. Figs. 2224 illustrate a high loop and a low loop and tufts in the same yarn, Whereas Figs. 2530 show the effect of loop drawing in the same yarn to provide successively two low loops and a high loop, and a low loop between two high loops. Figs. 31-33 show how tufts of equal height are formed between two high loops.

It will thus be evident that the use of a pile wire having a knife positioned in the shed so that tufts and loops in the same transverse row are formed, is capable of producing a wide range of novel effects, particularly when such a wire is provided with high and low portions along its length and when such Wires are used in sets having the high and low portions staggered warpwise in the set.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A pile fabric comprising stuffer warps, weft shots, binder warps, and transverse rows of pile yarn in which at least one of the transverse pile rows is formed from a first set of uncut pile loops, a second set of uncut pile loops lower than said first set, and cut pile tufts lower than said first set of loops and higher than the second set i of loops.

2. The method of weaving a pile fabric on a pile wire loom having Wires having at least one high portion and one low portion, comprising the steps of forming a weftwise row of pile loops over the high and low portions of said pile wire, withdrawing the pile wire, and concurrently with the withdrawal of the wire severing the pile formed over selected low portions of the wire to form relatively low pile tufts, raising the loops formed over the remaining low portions of the wire to form high loops in said one row and low loops in the immediately preceding row of pile projections, and retaining the loops formed over the high portions of the wire in said one row uncut and unenlarged,

3. The method of making a pile fabric having pile loops formed over pile wires inserted into the warp shed which comprises the steps of enlarging one portion of the loops on a wire, cutting a second portion of the loops on said wire, and maintaining a third and remaining portion of the loops on said wire at their initially formed height as the wire is withdrawn to form high uncut pile loops and low cut pile tufts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,125,745 Walsh Aug. 2, 1938 2,575,029 Shuttleworth Nov. 13, 1951 2,576,791 Jackson Nov. 27, 1951 2,600,241 Hamilton, Jr. June 10, 1952 

